Marcus Christie capped an amazing return from injury in 2013 with selection for the U23 World Championships, and now he has secured a place at An Post-Chainreaction for next year (Photo: Sean Rowe)
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The An Post-Chainreaction team has significantly beefed up its Irish contingent, with news today that Conor Dunne and Marcus Christie have both signed, while Sean Downey and Jack Wilson have re-signed having already been with the Belgian-based outfit this year.
As well as those four, Ryan Mullen has already joined the squad in recent weeks and now Cork-born Australian rider Robert Jon McCarthy has also been unveiled by the squad today.
They all join as Sam Bennett has departed for NetApp-Endura and Ronan McLaughlin has left the set-up.
While the signing of Dunne, stage winner and yellow jersey at Rás 2013, was already reported here on stickybottle before today's official announcement, Christie’s signing was hoped for but had not been as well flagged.
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After a year of fantastic rides against the watch and indeed on the road, Christie was rewarded with a place on the two-man Irish team for the U23 World Time Trial Championships in Florence in September.
That selection and his very strong 2013 campaign have now secured for him a ride at Pro Continental level.
And with Christie, Mullen and Dunne all renowned testers, their inclusion in the An Post-Chainreaction roster for next year really adds horsepower to the squad.
The signing of that trio also means the team will have very strong chances of success in short stage races with time trial stages.
Sean Downey heads back to the squad for his third campaign and will be hoping his experience and constant riding at a high level will see him secure the results on the international stage he is capable of.
Jack Wilson has spent 2013 as his maiden season with the squad and has gained significantly from that, taking the U23 national road title back in June. He will be hoping for more progress in 2014.
Meanwhile, Robert-Jon McCarthy – a cousin of Irish U23 international Eoin McCarthy and Nicolas Roche Performance Team rider David McCarthy – is a fantastic addition to the line-up.
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Having moved from Fermoy, Co Cork, to Adelaide with his family when he was aged 14 years, he is a former Australian junior champion and has broken into their national set up at the road World Championships.
An Post-Chainreaction manager Kurt Bogaerts said he was delighted with all of the new signings.
“I am really happy to have Conor, Marcus and Robert-Jon on board for next season,” he said.
“Conor proved how good he is at this year’s Rás and he has experience of Belgian racing already, so that will definitely stand him in good stead for next year.”
“Marcus is a rider with huge potential. I’ve seen how talented he is up close as he was on training camp with us before. He’s just been unlucky with injuries and deserves a chance to show what he can really do.”
“Robert is another rider with huge potential. I remember him a few years ago at the Youth Olympics and he caught my eye so I feel we have made three really good additions.”
“It’s great to have Jack and Sean on board for another year. Jack has a valuable year’s experience under his belt now and I think the two of them will be important riders for us next season," Bogaerts added.
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Conor Dunne had a great win on the opening stage of the Rás this year into Longford and having progressed every year of his career he should be well placed to hit the ground running with An Post-Chainreaction next year (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie)
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Robert Jon McCarthy takes the Australian junior road title last year; he'll be a great addition to the An Post Chainreaction team.
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